Grown Up Chili Mac

Kicking off the series Cook Like A Grown Up is a childhood favorite Chili Mac. Traditionally: the combination of boxed macaroni & cheese and chili from a can. Yum. My dad made this constantly and then our babysitter made it constantly. Chili Mac was and is still a staple in many homes. I was probably the only kid that did not leap for joy when it was placed in front of me.

I do not like beans in my chili. Hate them. The only person that would comply with my spoiled requests for no beans was my grandpa, but that was homemade chili that we ate over white rice with ranch. Yes, white rice and Hidden Valley Ranch. Oh, cheese.

So, my liking for chili mac at home was not the most enthused but I ate it, because I was hungry, and my parents made it because it was easy and cheap. I gave this dish a much needed twist with not only homemade macaroni and cheese AND chili but twists on both dishes individually. NO BEANS.

Pepper Jack Mac n Cheese

Other than my choice of cheese this is a pretty basic mac, no fancy tricks here. I wanted it to be smooth and velvety without orange dust incorporated.

Ingredients

Recipe

Make a roux with your butter, flour and an oil you keep on hand. We have been over roux before, please try and keep up.
The ONLY fanciness here is that I don’t use ALL milk in my sauce, reason being I did not have enough #adultingalready. We do not drink milk sooooo I did not know how much to buy.
Once your flour is cooked add your chicken stock—-hey this is gravy! 3 recipes in 1. THEN add your milk and finally your cheese. Wait for the cheese to melt and you will have a beautiful cheese sauce to drown your pasta in. DONE.

Recipe

Sweat your onions in butter and a little oil, once translucent add garlic. Brown ground beef. We went over “browning” as well in previous posts. Add tomatoes and chipotle peppers, and spices. Simmer for 4-6 HOURS. Cry me a river.